Women have broken barriers across all industries whether that’s in corporate business, sports, politics or innovative technology. We did it. And while that has changed history and will continue to inspire generations to come, there is one sector people rarely talk about or purposely overlook. Fan Culture. A community and lifestyle that’s connecting fans worldwide who love supporting their favorite artists. Let me tell you, creating a fanpage is not a childish act. Believe it or not, fans are the next generation of business people who are finally using their collected knowledge to fill these creative gaps. Once again, an empowering woman is leading the way to push for real change and we are here to spill the tea.
Let me introduce you to Fan To Band – an entertainment company that specializes in fan engagement and understanding fanbases’ needs. They believe that every artist should have fan insight incorporated in everything they do and they are here to provide it. The company was founded by Jaime Bilotti in 2019 and has been on the rise ever since. And while the business, concept and vision are incredibly impressive itself, Jaime is the heart and soul of it all. Her professional experience includes internships at Jingle Punks, Sony Music, Atlantic and Republic Records as well as working for the Warner Music Group. She has been a huge advocate for fan culture and continuously spoke up about the importance behind fan engagement. Eventually, Jaime took matters into her own hands and made every fan’s dream a working reality. For someone who made it onto Forbes 30 under 30 at only 23 years old, Jaime is extremely humble and uses her position and voice today to not only build on her current success, but to inspire and help others reach their own goals. Connecting with her myself, I have seen the passion behind the work, a genuine human being who loves to share her expertise and a founder who understands the power she holds. What she does with it is truly incredible. There is so much brilliance that comes with her name, her positive impact sparks value and is indeed undeniable at this point.
– CJ Robinson (Fan To Band)
Through Fan To Band, Jaime and her team created a virtual street team and safe space for aspiring music industry professionals to learn, grow, network, think creatively and empower each other, to recognize the power fans have. And if you thought that was exciting enough, listen to this. Members are offered to take part in unique events, workshops and panels to learn more about different areas of the music industry. This includes guest speakers, resume building and so much more. In addition to the educational events, they host several fan-built projects, such as album listening parties and marketing campaigns. After each workshop, participating members are provided with the resources to share their new skills on their resumes, LinkedIn and all social platforms. Through Fan To Band, fans are now being empowered to know, their skills as a fan are transferable not only to the music sector, but any other sector as well. Getting into, especially the music industry, with no prior professional experience or certified education always seemed impossible, until now.
What the misogynistic department of high horses is clearly missing, is the fact that fans are more than qualified to get a say in an artist’s career. Who do you think got the artists here? Who is buying or streaming the music to get it up the charts? Who buys tickets to concerts and queues outside all day to get a front row view? The music industry wouldn’t be what it is today without fans and their support from all around the world. Not every fan wants to be a professional, but the ones that do, have the right knowledge and skill set to get new music to break records and to turn a career into a complete success story. Through years of support, fans’ expertise consists of being self-taught at video editing, creating marketing strategies, doing music promotion and graphic design as well as having an eye for what is going to work and what isn’t. You can only understand a system, when you have been a part of it long enough.
Fans hold the key to long term victory and they deserve to be valued, respected and rewarded for being a hard working generation of aspiring professionals. They are a significant part of the triumph board members and label heads are profiting from today. So what does that tell us? It is time to give fans a real chance, to potentially open up proper departments to develop an even bigger sector all parties can profit from. Why not offer proper resources, so they can be prepared for the industry, provide networking opportunities and mentorship programs? While that might be a longer road ahead, Fan To Band has been leading by example by focusing on fans’ education and helping them build up on their experiences. Fans deserve to be respected for all they have contributed to an artist’s success and most importantly, they deserve to get paid after years of hard work and dedication. The time has come to push a shift when it comes to fan culture. It is time to prove that fans are the assets the music industry has been lacking. And besides, why wait to see change, when you can be a part of making it happen? It’s a revolution, besties!
ROARA Magazine 